With the updates, Google also said it was adding a feature for people to “double-check” Bard’s responses. (AFP)

Google Introduces ChatGPT Competitor Bard to its Suite of Services

Adriana MaraisSeptember 19, 23 Alphabet, Artificial Intelligence, Gmail, Google, YouTube

Google has revealed its latest strategy to assert dominance in generative artificial intelligence by integrating the technology into numerous highly popular products.

The Alphabet Inc. division announced Tuesday that it will equip services such as Gmail, Maps, Docs and YouTube with its Bard chatbot. Google’s Bard, first released in February, has lagged behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google executives, who are scrutinized by regulators around the world, have said they are in no rush to release AI services.

Google said in a blog post on Tuesday that the new features will allow people to search for flight information, map routes and watch relevant videos — all from one continuous conversation with Bard.

Google’s latest move follows Microsoft Corp., which in March revealed plans to integrate ChatGPT into its suite of Office applications. Google said that any material that business customers interact with Bard, such as business documents stored in the cloud, will not be seen by people or used to serve ads.

With the updates, Google also said it will add a feature that allows people to “double-check” Bard’s answers by displaying source material found through Google’s search engine.

“We’re presenting (Bard) in a way that it admits when it’s not confident,” Reuters quoted the executive as saying, explaining that the aim is to build user confidence in generative AI by holding Bard accountable.

Reuters added that Alphabet Inc’s Google said Bard has the ability to fact-check its responses and analyze users’ personal Google data as the tech giant seeks to catch up with ChatGPT’s popularity.

The release last year of ChatGPT, a chatbot from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, sparked a race in the tech industry to provide consumers with access to generative AI technology. ChatGPT was the fastest growing consumer app of all time at the time and is now one of the top 30 websites in the world.

Bard has not risen in the same way. In August, it received 183 million visits, 13% of what ChatGPT received, according to website analytics firm Likeweb.